The Midnight Court: And Other Poems

By Frank O'Connor

Irish literary heavyweight Frank O’Connor translates the ribald and raucous Gaelic masterpiece in a work originally banned by the Irish government.

As a teacher and translator of Irish verse, Frank O’Connor brought to the world’s attention many fine poems from his native land, few as enduring—and none as controversial—as Brian Merriman’s The Midnight Court.

An eighteenth-century masterpiece widely recognized as the greatest comic poem in Irish literature, The Midnight Court is a hilarious and insightful take on the battle of the sexes. In the court of a fairy queen, the men and women of Ireland air their grievances with one another. The competing lists of complaints are as long as they are uproarious, and when the queen rules in favor of the women, all young Irish bachelors are doomed to a terrible fate: marriage.

The Midnight Court has now taken its rightful place in the Irish literary canon, but when O’Connor’s English translation was first published in 1945, the Irish government banned it as obscene. In a delicious irony that might have been lifted from one of O’Connor’s short stories, the Gaelic original met with no censure. Here, as it first appeared, is Frank O’Connor’s faithful, funny, and eloquent translation of one of the most important works in Irish literature.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Media
• Release date: Aug 12, 2014
• ISBN: 9781497655089

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Preface

ARCHITECTURALLY, THE LITTLE city of Limerick is one of the pleasantest spots in Ireland. The Georgian town stands at the other side of the river from the mediaeval town which has a castle with drum towers and a cathedral with a Transitional Cistercian core and a fifteenth century shell, all in curling papers of battlements. Across the bridge are the charming Custom House with its arcade cemented up by some genius from the Board of Works; Arthur’s Quay falling into a ruin of tenements, and a fine long street of the purest Georgian which ends in a double crescent. There is no tablet in Clare Street to mark where Bryan Merryman, the author of The Midnight Court died, nor is there ever likely to be, for Limerick has a reputation for

Reviews for The Midnight Court

[nebula21-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Midnight Court is a very amusing and entertaining poem. This translation is brilliant and I think everyone would appreciate Merriman's wit. The subject matter is still relevant today despite the fact the original poem was written in the 18th Century. I would even recommend this text to people who do not like poetry, as it has a strong story and is very accessible.I did not enjoy the other poems. It felt like something was lost in translation, which was a shame.

[Luis Alexandre Ribeiro Branco · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Nice.